Chapter Four #2
Elizabeth hovered by his side as he levered himself out of the chair and shuffled toward the steps. However, he was able to manage with only the assistance of his cane. He had difficulty managing the stairs, holding the railing so he would not fall. But he was determined.
They exited the house through the back door.
After being confined indoors for so long, Darcy was pathetically grateful to walk out under the sun again.
The sky was immeasurably vast. Had it always been so large?
And the green of the plants was almost painfully intense.
He had almost forgotten how such things appeared.
The uneven ground in the garden presented a challenge; he was quite winded by the time they greeted the others. Half a dozen chairs had been arranged in a circle at the edge of the garden beneath the spreading boughs of an oak tree. Darcy gratefully sank into one.
Most of the Bennet family was assembled in the chairs, although the two youngest girls were out gathering flowers. Elizabeth affected the introductions. “Mr. Dee, allow me to introduce my parents, Mr. and Mrs. Bennet, and my sisters Jane and Mary.”
Jane was quite pretty and as blonde as Elizabeth was dark.
Mary had a pinched look about her eyes; she paid more attention to the plants in the garden than to Darcy.
Bewhiskered and graying, Mr. Bennet regarded Darcy genially, while the plump Mrs. Bennet displayed the avid interest he had observed all too often in mothers of the ton.
“I must thank you for your hospitality,” Darcy said to Mr. Bennet.
“Certainly!” the man replied. “We could hardly allow you to drown in the Lea!”
Darcy immediately concluded that Bennet was not the most tactful man he had ever encountered.
Mrs. Bennet leaned forward in her chair. “Pray tell me, is there a Mrs. Dee?”
“No,” Darcy said.
“And you are not engaged to be married?”
“No.” Darcy understood the calculations behind her questions. She had five unmarried daughters. Her husband was a gentleman, but they lived rather modestly. Darcy imagined he could give the daughters little in the way of dowries.
She took him to be a prosperous wool merchant, which would mean he was a fine—if not brilliant— match for one of their daughters.
She did not know how above their touch Darcy truly was.
Well, he had dealt with matchmaking mamas before.
He could withstand her assault for the length of his tenure at Longbourn.
“And would you say your family lives comfortably?” she asked. Apparently she did not have a subtle bone in her body.
“Yes,” he replied.
Was Mrs. Bennet the reason that Elizabeth had been ensconced in his bedchamber unchaperoned?
Had she hoped to create intimacy or claim that he had compromised the young woman?
Recalling his first reaction to her, Darcy did not find the idea unappealing.
She was beautiful and witty, exactly the sort of woman he would desire as a wife.
Unfortunately, the Bennets were beneath him both socially and magically. Although Elizabeth had strong mancy, he doubted anyone else in the family did. Families with strong magical lineages frequented the balls and parties of the ton, and most were represented on the Council.
And then there was the matter of what had caused the Bennets to be ostracized from their neighbors.
Given how permissive Mr. Bennet was in his supervision of his daughters, Darcy guessed there had been a scandal.
Mrs. Bennet might be eager to marry a daughter to a wealthy stranger before he learned the truth.
Fear of entrapment would have caused Darcy anxiety except that Elizabeth had not acted the least bit flirtatious with him.
Although she had been polite and friendly, she had not acted the coquette or asked personal questions.
It was puzzling and, truthfully, hurt his pride a bit.
Given his wealth, he was not accustomed to disinterest from young women.
Perhaps she was sweet on another man, a thought that disturbed him for some reason.
Mrs. Bennet never wanted for conversation.
“Did you know that Jane pulled you from the river?” The eldest daughter blushed and kept her eyes fixed on the embroidery in her lap.
She was pretty enough that she should have many suitors and appeared to be sweet-tempered.
But her eyes did not sparkle with Elizabeth’s intelligence, and Darcy found himself perversely annoyed.
Elizabeth was beautiful in her own right, and any man would be lucky to win her affections. Why was her mother advocating Jane?
“I thought Miss Elizabeth did that,” he said.
“Oh, I am sure Lizzy helped.” Her mother waved dismissively. “But Jane is an aquamancer.”
“Indeed?” Darcy said. How unusual to find two mancers in one country family. “I thank you for helping to rescue me.”
Jane blushed again. “I did little. Lizzy truly saved your life.”
“Nonsense!” her mother cried. “Lizzy just did a little healing here and there. Mr. Dee would have drowned without your assistance.” Darcy expected Elizabeth to protest, but she pressed her lips together and stared uncomfortably at the garden.
Perhaps she was accustomed to her mother devaluing her accomplishments and knew that protesting was useless.
“Well, I am exceedingly grateful to have received assistance from both of you,” Darcy said diplomatically.
Mary broke the ensuing silence when she addressed Elizabeth. “The rosemary is not growing well, and I need it for the still room.”
“Very well. I will look at it.” Elizabeth stood.
“Are you a gardener as well as a healer?” Darcy asked.
Everyone went still for a moment. Had he said something wrong? Then Elizabeth shrugged. “I am good with plants.” She tromped off into the garden with Mary, leaving Darcy with her parents and Jane.
Mrs. Bennet wasted no time in extolling her eldest daughter’s accomplishments and beauty for several minutes—until Kitty and Lydia arrived boasting armfuls of flowers.
The Bennets apparently possessed an extraordinarily abundant garden.
Lydia talked incessantly about the quantity of flowers, the weather, the rumor of a militia unit to be stationed in Meryton, gossip she had overheard at the milliner’s shop, and other subjects that Darcy had difficulty caring about.
Her mother, however, followed with avid attention and frequent asides to Darcy about how clever and pretty her youngest daughter was.
Clearly Lydia was Mrs. Bennet’s favorite. She hoped Darcy would take an interest in her—with Jane as a runner-up. But Lydia was a mere fifteen years of age; it would be like wooing one of Georgiana’s school friends—a ghastly prospect.
At least Jane was out of the school room, but her pretty placidity could not hold a candle to Elizabeth’s charms. What am I thinking?
None of these women would be a suitable match for me.
Although their father was a gentleman, his estate was small.
And their mother, she had let slip, was the daughter of a mere attorney.
Darcy knew that he must marry a woman from the first ranks of society.
In an attempt to change the subject, Darcy remarked to Mr. Bennet about Elizabeth’s remarkable healing talent.
“Has she ever been formally apprenticed to a healer?” Darcy inquired. “I would have guessed she had training in town.”
Bennet frowned. “No. She has never trained in London.”
Darcy’s eyebrows shot upward. “It is not so far.”
“I am not fond of the place.” Bennet’s tone of voice indicated the topic was closed.
Darcy could not imagine why it would be a sensitive subject. “I have never heard of anyone healing someone who was half drowned.” Not to mention his knife wound and the blow to his head.
“We are fortunate to benefit from her talent,” Bennet said in a tone that suggested he would not welcome further discourse.
“You have not told anyone of my presence at Longbourn?” Darcy asked.
Bennet regarded him appraisingly. “Lizzy relayed your request and we have followed it.” An unspoken question hung in the air.
Darcy had considered how to explain the need for secrecy. “I believe I was attacked by a rival mercantile family. They would like nothing better than to eliminate the competition under the guise of a common highwaymen attack.”
Bennet’s brows lifted. “I had not realized the wool trade was so cutthroat.”
“It is rougher than most people know,” Darcy said, mentally praying for forgiveness for maligning what was probably a completely honorable and benign profession.
“There are many miles of riverbank. Our rivals will not suspect I am here as long as they hear no whispers about a stranger at Longbourn.”
Bennet nodded, stroking his chin. “I am happy to extend our hospitality for a few days, so long as you do not bring trouble to my door.”
“I do not plan to linger. I will depart as soon as I am able,” Darcy said. Although, given his current fatigue, that would not be soon enough for his liking. Damnit, Richard. Where are you?
“Are you well enough for a turn around the garden?” Bennet asked. “My daughters are justifiably proud of it. I would be remiss if I did not provide a tour.”
Darcy stood and gathered his cane. “It would be my pleasure, but I must beg you to walk slowly.”
“Of course.”
Darcy struggled somewhat on the garden’s gravel paths but was able to keep a steady—albeit slow—pace, leaning more than he would have preferred on the cane.
The garden was extensive and robust and had a variety of unusual plants and flowers in every color of the rainbow.
How did they manage to have so many flowers bloom at once?
And why did all the plants look so healthy?
Bennet claimed they did not employ a gardener.
He said the whole family tended the garden except for Mrs. Bennet, whose nerves would not withstand insects.
They passed a patch of rosemary that appeared quite robust. Darcy was puzzled why Mary had expressed concern about it.
As they rounded the next curve in the path, they came upon Mary and Elizabeth kneeling by a patch of thyme.
Elizabeth’s hands hovered over the greenery.
At first Darcy thought his eyes were deceiving him, but, no, he saw clearly.
The plants were increasing visibly in size as he watched. Elizabeth was causing them to grow.
Bennet cleared his throat noisily, and both women startled before hastily rising to their feet.
Darcy’s mouth dropped open as the import of what he had observed struck him. “You are a vegemancer as well as a healer?” he asked. Having two talents was exceedingly rare.
It could even be a sign of dark magic like necromancy. Darcy’s chest contracted, and he suddenly had trouble breathing.